--- title: "Leak Reveals the New York Times Experimented With Using AI to Write Headlines" description: "A report from The Intercept reveals that The New York Times, which is suing OpenAI, has experimented with editorial uses for OpenAI models." date: "2024-07-09" modified: "2024-07-09" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/new-york-times-chatgpt-headlines" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "chatgpt" - "journalism" - "OpenAI" --- # Leak Reveals the New York Times Experimented With Using AI to Write Headlines ![]() *\Image: Gary Hershorn via Getty / Futurism\* *The New York Times* is [suing OpenAI and Microsoft]() for copyright infringement, arguing that the AI companies unlawfully scraped protected work to train the generative AI models that would eventually be used to build a competing product. New [reporting from *The Intercept*](), however, reveals that the *NYT* has meanwhile experimented with applying OpenAI's AI tools in the newsroom. According to the *Intercept* — which is [also suing]() OpenAI and Microsoft over copyright infringement — the *NYT's* OpenAI experimentation was revealed last month after a massive chunk of the *NYT*'s GitHub data was anonymously leaked on 4Chan. (As the *Intercept* notes, the *NYT* [confirmed to *BleepingComputer*]() that the leak was legitimate.) Within this massive breach — over three million files were stolen across 6,000 GitHub repositories — the *Intercept* uncovered more than one AI project, including one dubbed "OpenAI Styleguide." In that effort, the newspaper explored ways to use OpenAI's DaVinci to perform tasks like generating headlines and applying the paper's style guide to a story. Elsewhere, a separate, self-started effort from a staffer during the paper's "Maker Week" utilized OpenAI's ChatGPT to draft headlines as well. Which, right now, are tasks that are still generally performed by human journalists. Another project, this one unfinished, was intended to automatically generate "counterpoints" to opinion articles — a section of the *NYT* that's [often been the source of drama]() at the newspaper in recent years. As the report notes, nowhere on the *NYT's* [Research and Developmen]()t page — where it discusses two dozen use cases for AI and machine learning within its reporting efforts — does it list editorial applications like headline generation and style editing. And in response to the *Intercept's* reporting, a spokesperson for the *NYT* said the "OpenAI Styleguide" effort "was a very early experiment by our engineering team designed to understand generative AI and its potential use cases." "In this case, the experiment was not taken beyond testing, and was not used by the newsroom," the spokesperson added. "We continue to experiment with potential applications of AI for the benefit of our journalists and audience." It's true that the effort seems a bit slipshod: according to the *Intercept*'s reporting, the code instructs OpenAI's chatbot that it is a "headline writter \[sic\] for *The New York Times*." It's worth pointing out that the *NYT* has generally been up-front about its experimentation with AI, and even brought on its first-ever [Director of AI Initiatives]() last year. And before it ultimately decided to sue OpenAI, the paper, like many other publishers, had actually [been in discussions]() to license its vast library to the AI company. Clearly, though, those talks ultimately crumbled, and the newspaper is now asking OpenAI and Microsoft to compensate it for its web-scraped labor to the tune of billions. The *Intercept's* report is a fascinating peek at AI's ongoing ripples in the world of journalism, the potentially very consequential legal drama between cultural behemoths aside. Specifically, the media industry is collectively grappling with what AI means for individual publishers as well as for the media industry writ large. Tensions between the journalism world and Silicon Valley's AI sector only [continue to rise](), and as more [media partnerships]() and lawsuits take shape, the ways that players are [using]() — or choosing not to use — the burgeoning technology matters. To that end, that the paper of record experimented with AI applications that would seemingly replace or diminish certain human roles is a no small revelation amid the media's ongoing tumult. **More on AI and journalism:** [*Readers Absolutely Detest AI-Generated News Articles, Research Shows*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()